During my teen years, I adopted a well-known slogan for beauty products as my personal mantra. “I’m worth it.”
Dress I don’t need? Why not? I’m worth it.
Extra scoop of mashed potatoes? Sure, I’m worth it.
Three little words that work wonders for selling hair color turned into an excuse to bypass self-discipline and a twisted concept of my value. As you can imagine, it didn’t take long before my mother put a stop to that line of thinking.
What my teenage self didn’t understand is that I am worth much more than a tasty pile of carbs. I am worthy of self-control because I am made in the image of God who thrives on order, beauty, and the careful maintenance of our bodies.
I am worthy of self-sacrifice because God made me into the image of His Son who sacrificed everything for the sake of the world.
I am worthy of love, honor, respect, kindness, joy, peace, patience, virtue, and so much more because of the imprint of the divine stamped on my life from the moment of conception.
And so are you.
We are all made in the image of God. This is why we are creative, funny, intelligent, and playful. The image of God in our lives allows us to set aside our to-do lists for the day and sit with a friend who is grieving. His imprint on our beings calls us to live for more than our selfish desires. It calls us to rise above the temporary things of this world and embrace the eternal.
We are all created in the image of God, but we don’t all live within the boundaries of His holiness. This is why sin is so grievous to God. It’s not like the spiritual equivalent to spilled milk. When we do, say, think, or harbor anything contrary to the nature of God, we violate the purpose of our creation. He designed us to live in such a way that draws people to Himself. Instead, we so often choose selfishness which gives people an excuse to reject Him.
That may sound extreme, but we’ve all heard the excuses:
“I don’t want to go to church. Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.”
“If Christianity is like my [neighbor, cousin, boss] then I want nothing to do with it.”
“If God is so good, why did a drunk driver kill my family?”
In each of these cases, a person meant to draw someone to God turned a person away from God by falling short of God’s standard. True, that person may be misguided in their theology, but that doesn’t relinquish Christians from their guilt.
I am all for affirmations, but if we do not root our self-talk in the words of Scripture, it isn’t worth much. If we stomp all over our co-workers in search of promotion because we’re “worth it,” we may trample our chance to win them to Jesus.
The next time you feel a nudge to check your motives, run the situation through the filter of Isaiah 26:8:
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. (NIV)
Before you take that step, say those words, make that purchase, ask yourself:
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- Am I submitting to Jesus as Lord of my life at this moment?
- Are my actions in accordance with the laws and principles of Scripture?
- Am I waiting on the Holy Spirit to direct my steps in this decision?
- Is my desire to glorify the name of God and make Him famous in this situation?
The temporary pleasures of living life according to the standard of “I’m worth it” pale compared to the joy you will receive from walking worthy of the calling God has placed on your life.
Wait, calling?
Yes, while we often use the term in Christian circles to designate employment in certain vocational roles like becoming a pastor or missionary, Scripture teaches we are all called by God to magnify His name throughout all the earth. How do we do that? By submitting our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s control and living out those daily nudges you feel to bless others. It’s both simple and impossible without a constant attitude of humility as Jesus taught:
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 10:10 (ESV)
I challenge you to consider your life this past week. Have you displayed an “I’m worth it” attitude or an “I’m worthy” submission? If you’re leaning towards the former, what can you change to make next week an example of the latter? The choice may seem difficult at first, but remember, a woman of godly character is worth far more than precious jewels in God’s economy. (Proverbs 31:10)
A woman stamped in the image of God is priceless. That’s why the cost to redeem her was Jesus’ own blood. You’re not “worth it.” You’re worthy.
Print, pin or share the image below to remember your true worth every time you see it.
